In my follow up with the midwife today, I found out that I had a 3.9 cm cyst that ruptured. That isn’t a huge cyst – it’s somewhere between a strawberry and a lime. The cyst itself isn’t what hurts – it’s the rupture, when it spews blood and fluid into your abdomen. The result is discomfort and ongoing pain as your body is forced to reabsorb everything.

It’s surprising how much can go wrong with our bodies, and they still function. Indeed, it’s not so much that things go wrong, but that despite our bodies constantly springing leaks and disintegrating in fresh, unexpected ways, everything is not brought to a screeching halt. We aren’t – figuratively – brought to our knees.

This is, of course, a major problem when it comes to things like Alzheimer’s and cancer – our bodies and minds compensate so well that it’s tricky to identify early.

Anyway, I’m fine. I’m tired and sore, like I got pummeled, and I should feel better in a few days.